The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Astilbe, botanically known as Astilbe hybrid and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Delft Lace’.
The new Astilbe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to create new compact and sturdy Astilbe cultivars with numerous attractive flowers.
The new Astilbe originated from an open-pollination in 1998 in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands, of an unidentified selection of Astilbe hybrid, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown selection of Astilbe hybrid, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Astilbe was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated open-pollination in a controlled environment in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands in 2001.
Asexual reproduction of the new Astilbe by divisions in a controlled environment in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands since 2004, has shown that the unique features of this new Astilbe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.